News snippets

I have come across a few school teachers over the years who have been using my calendars as a teaching tool. Some have been buying significant numbers on the website at their own personal cost – who says that teachers are not as dedicated as they used to be? If ever a teacher wants at least 24 calendars for educational purposes, please ring me for a ‘trade price’ rather than paying the internet price. There are times well after New Year when I have too many calendars left – these will eventually be put in the paper bank. I currently have this situation with 2009 Snowdonia Calendars. If any teacher would like a box of 50 of these for just the cost of carriage, then let me know.

I had said that I would probably ‘go digital’ this year. However, when we visited the Orkneys last summer I just took a digital SLR camera with me. On return I had to spend some 40 hours computer work getting them to look as good as they would have done if taken on my Velvia slide film in the first place. On top of that, the cheapest full frame digital SLR cameras cost around £2000 (body only) and I have never spent more that £500 on a camera. So, sorry, I am going to stay old fashioned for the moment and take my main pictures on trusty old slide film. They are hand processed by Phil of Cambrian Photography (Colwyn Bay), who is much better than the latest version of Photoshop!

One area where I do definitely use a digital camera is underwater. I use a fairly old digital compact (Olympus C-7070) in a dedicated housing. I recently spent a week in the Red Sea with friends, and started experimenting a bit with underwater video as well. We also did a course and qualification learning to breathe Nitrox (or enriched air). This enables us to stay underwater longer and to feel rather less groggy after a day’s diving, but you need to get your calculations right as the consequences are quicker and more final if not!

I was very proud when in October and November my whole family passed their scuba diving qualification (PADI Open Water). It involved reading a fairly technical book of nearly 300 pages and learning it all in 2 weeks before doing a written exam. My youngest, Jack, was only 12 years old and not too keen on study, but diligently got on with it after getting back from school each day. They all got 98% in the written exam, getting the same question wrong (sounds suspicious!). Apart from the written part they had to do a fair amount of training and completing underwater tasks. They did this in 5 pool dives on Anglesey, and then 4 sea dives in Mallorca. I was impressed with the kids for their determination in getting qualified, but also my wife, Ali, who had to tackle some tasks that terrified her beforehand. As we are all qualified, diving together is something we can now do as a family fairly easily and economically.

Our daughter, Abi, is taking a gap year between her A levels and University. We are all excited that she has been offered a place (subject to interview in late March) as a teaching assistant at Turi School in Kenya for a year from August. We keep meeting people who have connections with Turi, and it has a very good reputation. Hopefully Abi will have plenty to offer the school, and I am sure that it will be a life changing experience for her.